stuart: almost 10:00 eastern time and new at 10:00, we are 14 hours from going over the fiscal cliff. there is no progress to report. certainly no deal on the table. the senate reconvenes in an hour. meanwhile, 28 million families will be thrown into tax chaos. hardships expected for all those people facing higher taxes than expected, come april. we will explain what that tax is all about. >>> check the big board. this is sound bite trading. the moment you get some kind of news from these fiscal cliff discussions, negotiations, you may see a market reaction. not much coming out of the talk so far. therefore, the market is flat. all right, everybody, it is -- what day is it? david: this is monday, december 31st, last day of the year. stuart: here's our company: david asman is with us. diane is joining us from the floor of the new york stock exchange. but first let's go to kirsten powers. she's with the daily beast in d.c. kirsten, i have to ask you about leadership. now, we've said many times when you have joined us on this program, i think you are -- i hate to repeat myself, but i thi